Revelstoketimber Supply Area

RevelstokeTimber Supply Area

Interim Silviculture Strategy

-- Version 1.2 --

Contents

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STRATEGY AT A GLANCE...... i

Introduction...... 1

Higher Level Goals and Objectives...... 3

Basic Data...... 4

Incremental Silviculture History...... 5

Issues and Silvicultural Opportunities...... 6

Opportunities to Increase Timber Supply...... 14

Opportunities to Improve Timber Quality...... 28

Incremental Silviculture Strategy...... 34

Silviculture Regimes and Investment Priorities...38

Incremental Silviculture Program...... 39

Job Outcomes...... 40

Summary of Information and Research Needs...41

References...... 42

Abbreviations...... 43

Appendix A: Additional Document Detail.....44

Appendix B: Detailed Issues and Silvicultural Opportunities Analysis46

British Columbia
Ministry of Forests

Funded By

Forest Renewal BC

March 31, 1999

Interim Silviculture StrategyNelson Forest Region - Revelstoke TSA

STRATEGY AT A GLANCE

Purpose / This strategy is intended to help optimize the application of available funding for silviculture activities towards the goals of improving the future quantity and quality of both habitat and timber supply. The strategy will be considered as one of several inputs in decisions on funding allocations and treatment activities.
Objectives / The primary objectives of the silviculture strategy are to:

increase regenerated stand volumes by 7%;
space 5 000 ha of stands in the harvest queue for decades 8 and 9 to ensure they will be of merchantable size at that time;
research the desired stand characteristics for caribou lichen forage production in order to determine the need and opportunity, if any, for silvicultural management of stands for this purpose; and
partially offset anticipated future lower log quality by pruning 50 ha/yr of suitable young stands (the requirements for significant areas to be in an older forest condition will also contribute to higher quality future stands).

Accomplishing these objectives requires a program substantially above historic levels.
Working Targets / Quantity:Manage long term timber supply to yield a harvest of 0.22 million m3/yr.
Quality:Manage regenerated stands to yield at least 6% (by volume) premium large logs having a 2.5% clear log component, with the majority of the remainder being of sawlog quality.
The following chart illustrates the above working targets. They represent the plausible high end of the potential of the timber resource relative to the TSR2 base case. Changes to the base case would also effect changes to the potential forecast. These forecasts are interim and require confirmation through analysis and modeling.

Product
Objectives / The following are product objectives at the log level for the Revelstoke TSA.
Quality ClassSpeciesCharacteristics
Premium Log:S45+ cm minimum average stand diameter at breast height (DBH), some clear wood component.
Hw, Cw35+ cm minimum average stand DBH, some clear wood component.
Sawlog:All25+ cm minimum average stand DBH.

Major Silvicultural Strategies

The strategies listed below are those considered in the workshop and follow-up analysis to be appropriate towards achieving the working targets. Other strategies that were considered but found to have no opportunity area are documented in the report.

Timber Quantity

Some of the following are not within the traditional scope of incremental silviculture but are included here for completeness. Some practices are pre free-growing and are not likely to be undertaken by licensees without funding assistance if free growing obligations can be achieved without them. (Increase - increase over the second timber supply review (TSR2) base case. Maintain - maintain TSR2 base case)

No. / Strategy / Priority
General / Conduct silviculture surveys in support of all strategies. / 1
Short Term
There are no strategies to increase the quantity of timber in the short term.
Mid Term
MT2 / (See “Summary of Information and Research Needs.”)
MT4 / Ensure stands at the beginning of the long term harvest queue (decades 8 & 9) are available by spacing 5 000 ha of dense hemlock/cedar stands over 10 years. / 4
Long Term
LT1 / Maintain the timber harvesting land base by:
(a) Treating approximately 200 ha of backlog NSR.
(b) Maintaining approximately 400 ha of previously reforested backlog plantations. / 3
2
LT2 / Survey 1 600 ha of deciduous stands to determine their potential and suitable silviculture treatments.
LT3 / Increase the volume of regenerated stands by 7% by:
i)using improved seed as available (currently available for 80% of spruce stock); (increase)
iii)using larger planting stock on approximately 20% of areas; (increase)
iv)fertilizing approximately 80% of trees at the time of planting; (increase) [ does not match workshop writeup]
v)brushing 400 ha/yr for growth enhancement (i.e., not only for survival); (increase) and
vii)repeat fertilize 450 ha/yr on a 15 yr return cycle. / 2
7
5
6
8
LT4 / Continue MT 2 as appropriate.

Timber Quality

No. / Strategy / Priority
Q1 / Prune 25 ha/yr to 5.5 m in two lifts (requires a program of 50 ha/yr) to create knot-free timber in the bottom 5.0 m log. / 4
Silviculture Regimes & Investment Priorities
The following table indicates incremental silviculture regimes which are suitable to attaining the above working targets and strategies.
Incremental Silviculture Program / The following annualized program will contribute to achieving the above goals and strategies. This program is considerably above historic levels and some activities may require phasing in. However, it does not include activities that may be required for caribou habitat management (pending research results). Spacing and pruning goals represent an anticipated upper bound. Lesser program levels should be oriented to specific target stands as shown in the regime table.

Job Creation / The following are the anticipated job outcomes associated with the preceding program, assuming the program is maintained into the future as necessary to achieve the working targets. The long term jobs table includes the potential harvest increment associated with caribou habitat management on the basis that either the habitat requirements will prove (through research conducted under this strategy) to be either currently over-stated or if not, to be achievable at younger stand ages through silvicultural treatments.

Further Research and Information Needs / During the assessment process, the following needs for further information and research became apparent. The outcome of these have implications for an incremental silviculture strategy. Bracketed numbers refer to the strategy numbers under which the need is identified (see tables in “Workshop Review of Potential Strategies,” page 15.
Conduct the following research and assessments related to lichen forage production for caribou to determine if silvicultural actions can be beneficial: (MT2)
Research the desired stand characteristics for caribou lichen forage production and determine at what age they occur.
Conduct additional FSSIM modeling and analysis of the medium and high emphasis biodiversity constraints. It is unknown how the imposition of these biodiversity constraints might affect the results of the special caribou run and when the ages at which caribou constraints no longer become limiting.
If research indicates the desired stand characteristics do not occur unaided at desired younger ages (or if ages are older than currently modeled), design and apply silvicultural treatment regimes to create them. The extent of the benefit to the harvest forecast would depend upon the availability of treatable stands and the economics of silvicultural treatments. Conduct field analysis to locate these stands and determine the total opportunity.
TIPSY yields and diameters for older spruce stands require confirmation. (MT2)
Further analysis of suitability and effect of fertilizing young Fdi and Pl stands for the purpose of ensuring these stands are of merchantable size in 80-90 years is needed. (MT4)
A survey of deciduous stands is required to determine their potential and suitable silviculture treatments, if any. (LT2)
Fertilization trials are needed to determine if the fertilizable land base could be expanded to include spruce or hemlock. (LT3)
OAF 1 factor of 15% requires confirmation. Survey techniques are available. Requires statistical validity at the management unit level if to be used for AAC determination. (LT3)
Further study of root rot management techniques and options is needed. (LT5)
Old growth site index estimation studies require completion. It is anticipated that site indexes may be underestimated for Cw and Hw.

Version 1.2 - Printed 10/11/2018Ministry of Forests

Incremental Silviculture StrategyNelson Region - Revelstoke TSA

Introduction

About the Interim Strategy

This strategy, and the process on which it is founded, is intended to help optimize the application of available funding for silviculture activities towards the goals of improving the future quantity and quality of both habitat and timber supply. The strategy will be considered as one of several inputs in decisions on funding allocations and treatment activities.

The limitations of time, budget and available information have tended to cause the focus in this first version of the strategy to be on the future quantity of the timber resource. It is expected that as the strategy development process evolves and as better and more information becomes available, the strategy will have more regard to the matters of future timber quality and the future quantity and quality of habitat supply.

To achieve the optimization objective, the opportunity evaluation process recorded herein is not limited by factors such as the availability of funding, funding source (e.g., public vs. private), or the ability to deliver a program. Because of this, the strategy generally illustrates the plausible high end of the potential of the timber resource. Within this context as well as a broad context of cost-effectiveness, available treatment opportunities, and operational realities -- all of which were explored in general terms in the workshop -- potential treatment activities are ranked. The end result hopefully points to the most effective and efficient means of at least partially achieving the working targets. The degree to which the overall strategy ultimately proves appropriate and is achieved will also be the degree to which the expressed targets will be achieved. This, of course, could also be affected by future unknowns, such as major changes in forest policy, land base available for timber production, or market demand.

Although this strategy focuses primarily on silviculture, it is recognized that silviculture is part of a suite of potential strategies which together may influence the future quality and quantity of habitat and timber supply.

This strategy should not be confused with the allowable annual cut (AAC)[1] determination process. AAC’s are based on actual practice and current information at the time of the determination. This strategy, on the other hand, is about creating a future state of our forests. Again, the degree to which the strategy proves appropriate and is achieved may influence future, but not necessarily present, AAC determinations.

This strategy is founded on readily available information and the knowledge of forestry professionals. It is intended as an interim strategy until a more in-depth analysis-based review is completed.

Methodology

This strategy was prepared through the following process:

Prior to the district working session, L. P. Atherton & Associates prepared a preliminary draft of this document, summarizing all available information relevant to a strategy and identifying opportunities to improve the future quantity and quality of timber supply.
A district working session was held March 4 & 5, 1998 in Revelstoke, attended by representatives of the organizations and forest companies listed below. Larry Atherton of L. P. Atherton & Associates and Doug Williams of Cortex Consultants Inc. led the session. Participants reviewed the potential opportunities identified in the draft document along with others that arose. The outcome of the session was a regime table, complete with priorities.
The consultants incorporated the results of the working session into the draft document and added forecasts of future harvest quantity and quality and of job outcomes.
After ministry review, the consultants submitted a completed strategy document to the Ministry of Forests (MoF) in electronic format as version 1.2. (The ministry will assign higher version numbers (e.g., 1.3, 1.4, etc.) as the strategy evolves and changes are made.)

Acknowledgments

The participation of representatives of the following organizations at the district workshop is gratefully acknowledged.

Ministry of Forests:

Columbia Forest District
Nelson Forest Region

/ Ministry of Environment,
Lands & Parks:

Habitat Protection Branch

/ Forest licensees of the Revelstoke TSA:

Downie Street Sawmills
Bell Pole Company

Representatives of Pope & Talbot Ltd. (TFL 23) also attended as observers and contributed to workshop discussions.

The project was directly managed by Ivan Listar of the Ministry of Forests, Nelson Forest Region. Funding was provided by Forest Renewal BC under a contract between the Ministry of Forests, Victoria (administered by Ralph Winter, Forest Practices Branch) and Cortex Consultants, Inc.

Higher Level Goals and Objectives

This section documents higher level goals and objectives relevant to a silviculture strategy for the TSA.

Provincial Goals

Fundamentally, government’s goals can be characterized as:

sustainable use;
community stability; and
a strong forest sector. (MoF, 1998a)

Provincial Objectives

Until provincial targets for timber quantity and quality are established, management unit strategies are to consider the following interim provincial strategic objectives (MoF, 1998a). Incremental silviculture strategies must also be in keeping with higher level plans under the Forest Practices Code.

Objective 1:Maintain current harvest levels as long as possible without creating disruptive shortfalls in future timber supply.

Objective 2:Create a long term timber supply capable of supporting a steady long term provincial harvest level similar to current levels.

Objective 3:Minimize the interim shortfall in provincial harvest anticipated before a steady long term timber supply is achieved.

Objective 4:Create a long term timber supply which will enable the timber quality profile of future harvests to be the same or better than the current profile.

It is recognized that not every management unit has the same capability to contribute to these interim objectives. Further, it is recognized that these objectives may not be attainable at current funding levels. Their purpose is to provide general guidance to the application of available funds.

Regional Objectives

The region has not set out formal regional incremental silviculture objectives. In the interim, the provincial objectives are accepted as being broadly applicable within the region.

Higher Level Plans

Formal higher level plans are strategic plans defined by the Forest Practices Code, however, there are currently no approved higher level plans covering the Columbia Forest District. The Kootenay Boundary Land Use Plan has been approved but the decision whether to make it a higher level plan has not been finalized. Until that time it provides guidance for management practices.

There are other plans that exist at a higher level which are strategic (policies and guidelines), or operational that provide direction to any lower level of plans, prescriptions, or forest practices. These, however, are not higher level plans as defined under the Code.

Version 1.2 - Printed 10/11/2018Ministry of Forests1

Incremental Silviculture StrategyNelson Region - Revelstoke TSA

Basic Data

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Incremental Silviculture StrategyNelson Region - Revelstoke TSA

Land Area

Description / Area
(ha) / Area
%
Total Area of TSA / 501 500 / 100
Total Productive Crown Forest / 221 500 / 44
Net Timber Harv. Land Base / 67 700 / 13.5

Source: TSR2 analysis report - rounded to nearest 100 ha.

*TSR1 net THLB - 62 700 ha.

AAC

AAC Type / Pre-TSR / TSR1* / Change (%)
Conventional / 269 000 / 230 000 / -14.5
Deciduous / - / -
Insect/Disease / - / -
Marginal / - / -
Total / 269 000 / 230 000 / -14.5
Woodlot AAC

*effective January 1/95

Harvest Forecast

Site Class

THLB only. Source:TSR2 analysis report - Fig 4.

Age Class

THLB only. Source:TSR2 analysis report - Fig 5, Table A-19

Tree Species

THLB only. Source: TSR2 analysis report Fig. 3.

Version 1.2 - Printed 10/11/2018Ministry of Forests1

Interim Silviculture StrategyNelson Forest Region - Revelstoke TSA

Incremental Silviculture History

Approximately 480 ha are harvested annually (TSR2 analysis report, p. 24).

Treatment / TSR2 Status (1998) / Current Status (1999)
Incorporated in Timber Supply Analysis / Not Incorporated in Timber Supply Analysis / Source: CFD[2]
Backlog / All backlog areas (1 800 ha) are considered part of the THLB. Yields are projected for various natural stocking levels. / Approximately 200 ha are planned for treatment. An additional 400 ha require brushing to ensure free growing is achieved. The remaining backlog areas are not planned for treatment and are expected to regenerate naturally over time.
Conversion / None. / None
Commercial Thin / None. / None
Space / TIPSY used for stands regenerated over the past 20 years. Assumes incremental spacing for stocking control on stands harvested prior to 1987 and either basic or incremental spacing thereafter. / Max recent program of 100 ha/yr. Spacing is not usually required to deal with over stocking. Rather, the problem is the opposite - brushing is needed on most stands to keep stocking levels up.
Prune / Max recent program of 50 ha/yr.
Fertilize / None

Issues and Silvicultural Opportunities

TSA modelling in support of silviculture planning has not yet been undertaken. In its absence, sensitivity analyses from the TSR2 analysis report are the best source of information as to the opportunities for incremental silviculture to increase future timber supply. A detailed issues and opportunities analysis is contained in Appendix B, page 45.

The following are selected sensitivity analsysis charts from the TSR2 analysis report, to which opportunity information is added to illustrate the opportunities. (Figure 1 was not included in the analysis report.) Further modeling is required to confirm the indicated effects.